The head of the Teaching Institute of Public Health “Dr Andrija Stampar”, Branko Kolaric, said on Thursday that no harmful substances were detected outside the fire that broke out on Wednesday evening in a waste disposal company in Zapresic near Zagreb.

At a press conference on air quality after the fire in the plastic waste storage area of the EKO-FLOR company, Kolaric confirmed that elevated levels of aromatic hydrocarbons and organic solvents, as well as carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide, which can be harmful, were detected at the fire site itself.

The institute monitored the air quality during the night from Wednesday to Thursday, Kolaric said, noting that a mobile device was used to monitor the air quality in the eastern part of Zagreb and in the Markusevec neighbourhood towards Kasina because the smoke descended on that part of the city.

No changes in control measurements expected

“The device we used detects more than a thousand different compounds, and apart from the smoke and the unpleasant odour, there was no exposure to pollutants outside the fire site. Such substances disperse quickly in the air and their levels drop rapidly near the scene of the fire,” he said.

Kolaric said he did not expect any changes in the control measurements either, as the fire was contained relatively quickly, at around 4.45 am on Thursday.

Burning plastics releases aromatic hydrocarbons such as phenol, styrene and benzene, which are dangerous and carcinogenic.

“We detected them at the site of the fire, but no such compounds were detected in the other places where measurements were taken,” he said, noting that there were no specific recommendations for citizens other than to avoid outdoor physical activity while the unpleasant odour persists.

As for the residents of Zapresic, he said that there were no risks to their health and that control measurements were being carried out to provide them with additional reassurance.